Geneva - United Nations human rights chief Navi Pillay honoured Nelson Mandela for having led oppressed citizens into a post-apartheid era that was marked by reconciliation rather than revenge.
“He told us to throw our spears and guns into the sea,” said the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, a South African of Indian descent.
“He told us to set aside our desire for vengeance and work for a South Africa not just free of racism, but free of all types of discrimination,” she said.
Pillay defended anti-apartheid activists as a lawyer and was appointed by Mandela as the first black female judge on South Africa's High Court.
Sapa-dpa